The Seven Types of Rest Everyone Needs

Have you ever gotten a good night’s sleep but still woke up feeling exhausted? This might be a sign of “rest deficit.” Rest is more than just sleep! Often, we might confuse the two. It’s important that we stop treating rest like a reward, or something we start doing once exhaustion, burnout, or overwhelms finds us.

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, author of Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, writes about seven different types of rest we all need in order to help us prevent feelings of burnout and overwhelm.

Physical Rest – lack of sleep and/or overactivity can drain our body’s energy and drive. The two types of physical rest can help:

Passive – get restful sleep (7+ hours a night); take power naps, as needed

Active – stretch; gentle movement; take deep breaths; get a massage

Mental Rest – to recover from focusing on too many things at once or overtaxing our thinking:

take breaks during productive periods or from problem-solving; schedule a time specifically for “worrying;” write down your to-dos; create a transition ritual to separate work and life; listen to music or meditate; doing something mundane, like folding laundry, washing dishes, etc.

Emotional Rest – withholding our emotions, or not expressing them freely, requires a lot of energy. Emotional rest deficit occurs when you feel like you can’t be authentic. Counter this by creating space to process your emotions, share your inner experiences with others, and be your truest self:

honor your boundaries; connect with people you feel safe with; talk to a therapist or a good listener to relieve yourself of emotional labor

Social Rest – consider your relationships, and their positivity, support, and meaning:

Spend more time with people who give you energy, support you, bring out the best in you, and less with those that steal your energy; for some, it means taking a break from socializing, or blocking out time to be alone

Creative Rest – if most of your day involves coming up with solutions to problems, your creative energy most likely needs a replenish. Dr. Dalton-Smith writes that creative rest is about reawakening “the awe and wonder inside each of us.” We need to make time for things that inspire us: create to create, rather than produce; read a book for fun; go on a walk in nature; take in a sunrise or sunset; visit a museum; engage with inspiring music, documentaries, etc.

Spiritual Rest – we all have a fundamental need for belonging! Take part in something bigger than yourself: engage in things that give you a sense of meaning and purpose; volunteer; find communities; do something that grounds you, like meditate; pray, recite affirmations or mantras; participate in faith-based activities (if aligned with your beliefs)

Sensory Rest – our senses are continuously receiving input from our surroundings. Give your senses a break from external stimuli: wear blue light glasses during screen time; unplug from technology; find quiet and calm; sit in silence or dim lighting; take a break from social media(s); turn off notifications.

Reflect on which 1-2 types you feel you are experiencing the biggest rest deficits in and start there! Over time, we can continue to build the different types of rest into the structure of our daily and weekly lives to provide the most benefit. Developing an ongoing recovery process allows us to produce at a sustainably high level, while maintaining a well-rested and balanced life.

“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” – Alan Cohen